As odd as it feels to say, the Tennessee Titans' Week 6 matchup with the Las Vegas Raiders already feels like a must-win game for the franchise. Fans weren't fooled by Week 5's fluky win against the Arizona Cardinals, and they can't afford to misstep against the 1-4 Raiders on Sunday.
Head coach Brian Callahan is already on the hot seat, and a loss to this Las Vegas team in its current form would be quite detrimental for his case to stay in town. Things won't get any easier in the following weeks against the New England Patriots, Indianapolis Colts and LA Chargers either.
With his back up against the wall, however, Callahan has to prove that he is, at least, not the coach of the worst team in the NFL. He and his father, Bill, will both have to overcome some personal connections to the Silver and Black to do so, however.
Brian Callahan can't let Raiders connections affect him in Week 6
Bill Callahan was the Raiders' head coach in 2002 and 2003, where he led the team to a Super Bowl. Brian Callahan also served as a QB coach in Oakland in 2018, and was asked about his connections to the franchise earlier this week. He couldn't help but reminisce about some fond memories.
"When my dad was there, they had a lot of success over those years. ... I was a fan of the team, I was always excited to go. It was great environments to go play in when they were at the Coliseum in Oakland," Callahan said. "Then I got a chance to go coach there for a year. I have fond memories in that Silver and Black, and those gamedays, and some of the wins over the years when I was following along as a high school kid and spending time there. Great place, great memories for me."
Thankfully, however, he assured Titans fans that he was approaching this game like he would any other, brushing off notions about this contest meaning more or being a "grudge match."
"Generally not, no," Callahan said. "No, the faces change, and there's a lot of things that are, you know, everywhere is different after a couple of years. I certainly want to go win, but there's no personal reasons there; I just want our team to go 1-0 this week."
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Of course, the Callahans are not the only ones in the building who are connected to Las Vegas. Assistant general managers Dave Ziegler and Reggie McKenzie both served as the general manager of the Raiders at one point.
It makes sense then that former Raiders like Arden Key, Jihad Ward and Sam Webb are on the Titans' active roster and practice squad. Tennessee also has coaches like Bo Hardagree, Nick Holz, Travis Smith and Tom Jones who served in various coaching capacities in Oakland and Las Vegas.
Ultimately, winning the game will be the most important thing for Callahan and the Titans. But it's always fun to learn about the historical links between the Titans and their opponents.